Barbara F. Materka, a lifelong fighter for human rights and women's rights, died peacefully in her home on Turtle Creek Blvd at the age of 99, surrounded by loving family in the days preceding her death. Barbara was a member of the VFA, and SMU student interviews of her can be viewed in our "Fabulous Feminists" ebook. She served [...]
From the New York Times, "Megan Rapinoe Steals the Show at the Women's World Cup Parade." There were words of gratitude, the usual forgettable verbiage from public officialdom and a presentation of the keys to the city. Then the people gathered at the City Hall rally for the United States women’s soccer team on Wednesday finally got to hear from [...]
The Equal Rights Amendment is back on Capitol Hill - 36 years since its last hearing and nearly a century since the amendment to guarantee equal rights to women was first introduced in Congress. Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney of New York in January again sponsored a resolution to restart the ratification process needed to add the amendment to the US constitution. [...]
Former senator Birch Bayh, the author of two major constitutional amendments as well as legislation that dramatically improved women’s rights in classrooms and on athletic fields, died March 14 at his home in Easton, Md. He was 91. Mr. Bayh co-wrote what would have been the 27th Amendment, the Equal Rights Amendment, prescribing equal treatment of women in all fields. Congress [...]
At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, activist and organizer Heather Booth helped register voters in Mississippi. She then became a go-to strategist for causes like women's rights and an advisor to political leaders. Learn more about Booth's legacy. This film gives an overview of 50 years of the progressive movement, and serves as a manual from one of [...]
Betty Friedan, author of the Feminine Mystique and a founder of the National Organization for Women, was born 98 years ago today, February 4, 1921. Betty was one of the catalysts of the second wave feminist revolution. We will always be grateful for her contribution and we remember her today.
Automated email replies of working women - “I’m out of office until 2019” - were part of a campaign to mark Equal Pay Day in Britain this November to draw attention to the country’s gender pay gap ("Britain's Equal Pay Day Highlights Gender Gap," NYT, Nov. 10, 2018). The Fawcett Society, a group that campaigns for gender equality and [...]
In her September 27 column in the New York Times, "Christine Blasey Ford's Sacrifice", Michelle Goldberg describes Dr. Ford's testimony as heroic: "On Thursday, Christine Blasey Ford testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the world, that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were both teenagers. Her soft voice cracked as she spoke. She smiled [...]
Remarkable Women Whose Obituaries were Overlooked is the concept behind a new series introduced by The New York Times during National Women's History month this year. "Since 1851, obituaries in The New York Times have been dominated by white men. Now, we’re adding the stories of remarkable women." This is how the “Overlooked” project is described by Amisha Padnani and Jessica [...]
Iranian women have been raising a new challenge to their Islamic government, breaking one of its most fundamental rules by pulling off their headscarves in some of the busiest public squares and brandishing them in protest. An activist group posted videos in February of women in Iran with their hair uncovered, waving garments in protest.